History & Culture

History & Culture

History & Culture in Marshall County

Marshall County remembers its past and pays tribute to both the exciting and tragic times. At the Marshall County Historical Museum in Plymouth, follow historic highways that trace the county’s history and learn about the Potawatomi Tribe’s Chief Menominee and the group’s tragic Trail of Death. Find out about the county’s touch with Roy Rogers and a famous Purdue football coach. Interactive exhibits and a contemporary approach helped the museum win an Indiana Historical Society Award in 2014. You can retrace the sad journey of the Potawatomi, who were forced west in 1838, starting at the Chief Menominee statue in Plymouth, where signage will direct you.

Experience the ever-changing first floor exhibits and visit the tastefully renovated second floor authentic period rooms and exhibits that expand over 3 store-fronts in Downtown Plymouth! Encounter museum displays that transport you back to an era. From vintage clothing, furniture and historic artifacts to modern graphics depicting history with a contemporary edge, at the Marshall County Museum the “old becomes new!”

The exhibits evoke emotion and a thirst for knowledge that leave you with an appreciation for what makes Marshall County, Indiana unique, and why we call it home! Brown Bag Lunch Speakers, Open Houses and Special Events remind visitors that looking back at history helps us learn and move forward! Kid’s Hands-On Areas available and 40-ft. Interactive Model Trains operate every Saturday from 11 AM – 1 PM! Equipped with a state of the arts Genealogy Research Library, the Marshall County Museum is open Tues-Saturday 10-4 PM. The museum is closed on Sundays, Mondays and also on County holidays.

At the Culver Academies Museum and Gift Shop museum guests will get a glimpse of the beginnings of Culver Military Academy through rare artifacts, including original 1860s and 1870s stoves and clocks sold by founder Henry Harrison Culver as the catalyst of what would become one of the premiere private boarding schools in the United States.
Fall & Winter Hours of Operation are Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The Museum of Culver & Lake Maxincuckee History is located inside the First Famers Bank and Trust Building. The hours currently in effect are Monday 9-1, Tuesday Closed, Wednesday 10-6, Thursday 10-6, Friday 10-5 and Satruday 9-3.

The Culver Community History Museum seeks to promote the unique natural, historical and cultural heritage of the Culver area by collecting, preserving, interpreting and disseminating artifacts and other research materials. In our community, we seek to foster conviviality and engagement from all walks of life by being the natural repository for families and individuals to share their stories and memories. We also seek to serve the broader research community as a professional, self-sustaining, small local museum both on-site and online.

The Culver Academies is a college prep school comprised of The Culver Military Academy (CMA), founded in 1894 and The Culver Girls Academy (CGA), founded in 1971.
CMA is based on a military system that is designed to teach the principles of leadership, integrity, self-discipline, manners and respect for self, others and authority. The Culver Girls Academy operates under a system of self-government known as a prefect system. Structured with legislative, judicial and executive branches, the CGA system allows each girl the opportunity to lead and progress to higher levels of responsibility.
The redbrick buildings on the New Englandesque, 1800-acre campus contain military touches like turrets and parapets and are located on the shore of beautiful Lake Maxinkuckee. The chapel houses the second largest pipe organ and clarion in the United States. The Vaughn Equestrian Center has the largest indoor riding arena located on an academic campus. The 47,000 square foot library is one of the most modern secondary school libraries in the country, with a shelf capacity for 150,000 volumes, providing the latest in technology.
Perhaps the academy’s biggest source of pride, however, is its Black Horse Troop; the largest remaining mounted cavalry unit in the United States. The Troop has ridden in 13 Presidential Inaugural Parades starting with President Woodrow Wilson’s in 1913 through President George W. Bush’s in 2001.
Culver boasts such well-known alumni as Hal Holbrook and Gene Siskel, as well as scores of corporate chieftains such as Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams. Several Congressmen and Governors also attended the school.

The Trail of Death starts at the Menominee statue south of Plymouth. Chief Menominee and his band of Potawatomi Indians were forced to move from Indiana to Kansas in 1838 and many died. On September 4, 1909 the State of Indiana erected the Chief Menominee Statue in remembrance of the horror the Indians were put through and a memorial to the Potawatomi Indians.

The depot was moved in 2009 and rededicated in 2011, after restoration. The restored B&O Depot has a large waiting room, ticket office, and luggage freight room as they appeared in 1929. On display are railroad memorabilia, railroad tools, and several interpretative displays. Also, featured is a large bird's eye view drawing of Bremen in 1877. Outside is a 155 foot section of track with a small service car waiting to be unloaded. Open the first Sunday of the month from May to November - 2-4pm, tours and events may be arranged.